BMW, Dodge Autos Among Most Appealing in J.D. Power Study

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Chrysler Group LLC each won three segments in J.D. Power & Associates’ annual study of the most appealing brands and vehicles, including many that scored poorly for quality.

Ten of the 20 category winners in the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study, such as the Ford Fiesta subcompact and Porsche AG’s Cayenne sport-utility vehicle, garnered the lowest overall-quality score in J.D. Power’s annual study of new-car quality, which measures the average number of defects in the first 90 days of ownership.

Redesigned models with new features tend to score high in the APEAL study “but may have some teething troubles from an initial quality standpoint,” Dave Sargent, a J.D. Power vice president, said in a telephone interview. “The two at some level kind of work against each other.”

Ford fell from fifth to 23rd in the Initial Quality Study in June after glitches arose in some of its MyFord Touch dashboard systems. The technology was panned by Consumer Reports that same month.

The APEAL study, details of which weren’t released to the public, tells a different story, said Ford Global Quality Vice President Bennie Fowler.

“What we see in the APEAL survey is that MyFord Touch is one of the major reasons for purchase,” he said. “You will see us continue to push the technology envelope.”

The APEAL study surveyed more than 73,000 automobile owners and lessees about positive aspects of their vehicles, the Westlake Village, California-based researcher said.

Porsche was the top brand with a score of 879, followed by Tata Motors Ltd.’s Jaguar with 857 and BMW with 850. Volkswagen was the top non-luxury brand at 14th. Hyundai Motor Co. improved the most, from 28th in 2010 to 15th, and its Equus scored the highest in the survey.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Chrysler Group LLC each won three segments in J.D. Power Associates annual study of the most appealing brands and vehicles, including many that scored poorly for quality.
Ten of the 20 category winners in the Automotive Performance,...